Our stallions are the cornerstone of this program. While mares are equally important in their own right, the stallion is the horse with the ability to mass-produce. If you have a great stallion, he can sire several wonderful foals each season. Just the same, a stallion of mediocre quality with a bad mind can produce foals who are just that... mediocre with a bad mind.

We strive to provide our mares (and our clients' mares) with top-quality stallions. We have been extremely blessed to own many wonderful stallions throughout the years, including our cornerstone stallion Mighty White Brother, our Dreamfinder son Argentarius and our Two Eyed Red Buck son Two Buck Baron. Unfortunately, our ApHC stallions Argentarius, his son I Dream Of Champagne and our AQHA stallion Two Buck Baron tested positive for the genetic defect polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM1) and were castrated so are no longer available for breeding.

You may wonder what PSSM1 is and why we actively chose to eliminate this from our breeding program. Horses with PSSM1 are unable to properly store glucose (sugar) making it unavailable when needed for energy. While often fine for a period of time, these horses can develop symptoms of the defect including tying up, inability to move, muscle pain, cramping, exercise intolerance, muscle stiffness, shifting lamenss, back pain, a camped-out stance, muscle atrophy and colic-like symptoms. PSSM1 is passed on by a parent with a copy of the gene, and the defect is incomplete dominant, meaning horses with one copy of the gene (n/P1) or two copies of the gene (P1/P1) can be affected.

The good news is a DNA hair test is available so horse owners can determine whether their animal has PSSM, properly maintain positive horses with a special diet and exercise, and make the proactive decision not to move this defect forward in the gene pool. Many breeders are making a concerted effort to eliminate this gene from their herd and educate the public about PSSM1. Even though the decision to eliminate PSSM1 from our breeding program resulted in a monumental financial loss - not to mention a heavy emotional toll - we believe it was not only responsible and ethical, but necessary for sound horses and safe, satisfied riders.

With the alleged discovery of additional PSSM variants by the New Mexico business EquiSeq, we at B and L Horse Ranch will once again make the financial commitment to test our breeding stock WHEN proven, researched, scientific tests become available to the public by a reputable lab. This will of course take time, as the genetic basis for any PSSM tests other than PSSM1 are not complete, not studied, not reviewed and not proven. In essence, while we support genetic testing, we do not advocate experimental, unproven and costly tests offered by dubious operations. It's like P.T. Barnum said: "There's a sucker born every minute."

As we move forward in our endeavor to produce healthy, quality appaloosas and quarter horses I want to thank everyone who has helped make this program a continued success.